Thursday, August 17, 2017

My new release, Once Upon a Lady, is book eight of The Soul Mate Tree Series and I couldn’t
be prouder to share in a venture that showcases the talents of so many amazing
romance authors across a variety of genres. When I was first approached by Char
Chaffin asking if I’d be interested in joining the project, my first thought
was ‘I’ve never written a novella before.’ **gulp** After convincing myself
that I could indeed capture an entire story in the length of a novella, I jumped
on board. Taking a break from my debut Regency series, Men of Circumstance, I
started to toss around ideas and quickly stumbled upon Kate and Jackson.

Lost in duty, if
there was anyone needing the assistance of the mystical Soul Mate Tree, it was
Kate. And who better to help her discover her destiny than Jackson, a man
equally adrift. As soon as I saw the beautiful cover created by Wren Taylor, I
knew I had my story.

Their path, navigated by the poetic
legend created by Char and Cheryl Yeko, was filled with plenty of obstacles but
once they embraced the gift granted by the tree, not even Kate’s ducal father
could stand in their way.

An ancient legend spanning eras, continents,
and worlds. To some, it’s nothing more than a dream. To others, a pretty fairy
tale handed down through the generations.

For those in critical need of their own
happy ending, a gift.

Respectable Lady Katherine Baxton, striving to meet the
requirements of her station, has become the ultimate dutiful daughter. And now,
the Duke of Blackthorn’s betrothed. Far from a love match, Kate is nevertheless
determined to do as expected and marry.

That all changes the night she panics at her impending
future and runs, stumbling upon a private grove, a mysterious tree. . . and a
half-naked man.

The youngest son of a viscount widely thought to have
purchased his title, Jackson Cooper demonstrates his disdain for the
aristocracy by affording himself every luxury available—drinking, wenching, and
gambling—while eschewing anything representing the ton. Jackson has little care for his reputation and no desire to
marry. His escape from London is all but complete.

Until fate—in the form of a beautiful, mysterious
lady—interrupts his plans, enticing him with the very thing he never wanted.

Short
Excerpt:

Kate felt his
approach before she saw him. Which wasn’t all that surprising since her body
had remained mindful of his presence. Fighting the impulse proved fruitless.

When his tall frame
blocked the sun and cast her in shadow, she knew besides giving him a direct
cut, she had no escape. If only she hadn’t ventured from her sister’s side. At
the time, abandoning Helena had been her singular option since their slow
stroll through the gathering had traveled too close to the very man standing
beside her. She’d been delaying the inevitable.

Kate was now alone,
as she tried to keep her attention on the lawn activities before her, hoping no
one would witness what was about to happen.

“Aren’t sprites
confined to the trees?” His deep voice washed over her.

She didn’t turn to
acknowledge him. “How nice to see you properly dressed for once.”

His chuckle warmed
her. “Are you following me?”

An unladylike snort
refused to be repressed. “Hardly. You are rather difficult to overlook, being
the only unknown face here.”

“That’s not true.
You’ve seen my face . . . as well as other, more interesting parts.”

Kate wished she’d
listened to her sister and worn a bonnet. Anything to mask the heat flaring in
her cheeks.

Thankfully he
remained at her side and hadn’t a clear view of her face. “We have not been
introduced. I can’t be seen speaking to you.”

“Then let us go where
we can't be seen.”

Her heart raced at
his boldness. Why was this man so tempting? She was spoken for, though still
unofficially. Proper ladies didn’t follow strange men to private locations,
regardless of their marital status. “Absolutely not.”

“Even if I have
something of yours?”

Blast! Her ring.
Given her luck lately, she would have lost it in the grove of all places. Her
aunt would toss in her grave knowing Kate had misplaced her gift.

“A true gentleman
would return it.”

His deep laugh caused her pulse to
flutter. “I'm no gentleman. Or haven't you heard?”

Addie Jo has lived in the same
cold-winter-hot-summer area of Minnesota her entire life. Sharing in the
raising of her three extremely rambunctious boys is her very understanding
husband who endured being dubbed “The Duke” by his co-workers. Keeping Addie Jo
company while she writes (besides her wonderfully loud children) is her
yorkipoo, Bella, who is never far from Addie Jo’s side. And recently the newest
addition to their family, a black lab named Max.

Addie Jo has always had a love
and passion for romance books and became engrossed in historical romance (particularly
Regency) soon after graduating from Lurlene McDaniel’s young adult books.
Currently, Addie Jo reads any genre that has a great emotional story that keeps
her reading into the early hours of the morning.

Addie Jo has a bachelor degree in
accounting and is a financial coordinator when not playing chauffeur for her
hockey-playing boys, cuddled up with a good book, or writing her next story.

Had they known
that the scar on her foot would give them away, they would have set the car
ablaze before pushing it over…

BLURB

Mayaki is
reportedly dead, with her car having been discovered to have fallen over
Tariaah, the sacred hill, and making front-page on the morning daily.

Gloria
Reginald rushes to Lohada to verify and arrange for her friend to be brought
home for burial but, shockingly, the body in the morgue has a matted face under
a roll of bandages and looks nothing like her, raising questions that beg for
answers. The police can’t be trusted and the doctors seem suspect. To the
natives of Lohada, Mayaki is merely another victim of the anger of the god of
the hill.

But when
Mayaki’s wooly red doll providentially turns up in the outcrops, Gloria’s
intuition quickly leads her closer to uncovering an ingenious plot hidden
behind her best friend’s mysterious disappearance. With the conviction that her
friend is still alive, Gloria must take charge of matter if she hopes to get to
the root of the goings-on.

Soon the
puzzle unravels and she finds herself locked in a dire struggle to save her
friend from the hold of a dreadful and powerful drug-running organization that
demands just one thing that only Gloria can provide in exchange for Mayaki.

EXCERPT

The helicopter
blew to smithereens, a huge ball of fire in the sky. The flaming debris
cascaded down on the forest in a massive shower of fireworks and the resultant
effect of the explosion created a momentary tremor in the earth underneath us
that I actually shifted on my feet. Then came a sudden uproar of jubilation;
the entire village of Rihuku was agog. A tremendous victory for them.

There wasn't a
moment to waste, and Chief Mahiri again began issuing new orders. At his
command, the women and children began disappearing back into the huts. I
followed him back to the clearing. Able-bodied young men amounting to sixteen
in number had assembled themselves before him. Dabilu was evidently the leader
of the pack.

Chief Mahiri's
voice was fierce as he bellowed words to the men. Like soldiers heading out to
war, they listened raptly. When he was through speaking, the men turned and
followed Dabilu away from the clearing. Then one after the other, all
disappeared through one of the dark crevices between the huts.

"Chief,
what are you proposing to do now?" I asked.

He turned his
face to me. "I'm leading the men out to Inua's. It has been ordained that
he dies today!"

"Are you
talking about an ambush—a surprise attack then?"

"If we
don't move fast, he will send his men out here to hunt for you. Already the
helicopter is late in returning, though unknown to him it has met with a fate
far greater than he can ever imagine."

"But
Chief," I said, "my friends are there at the villa. They can easily
be mistaken for Inua's thugs. They are innocent. If your people should…"

He looked at
me innocuously. "It can't be helped, I'm sorry. This is war. In a war,
lives are sacrificed. Inua has to be taken out, and to achieve this anything
will be compromised."

"Including
the lives of my loved ones? Your war is with Inua and not them. Your men are
not trained in the requisite military maneuvers required in a situation like
this. Look, Chief, it can be helped. You can get Inua, and at the same time
save the lives of my friends trapped there. If you order your men to—"

It was
hopeless; the chief was inattentive. Mahiri's soldiers were re-emerging, all
fully armed with a variety of modern assault weapons: automatic rifles, and a
couple with mortar guns. They looked like savages—which was actually what they
were at the time. Without pausing for a moment, they walked with heavy feet
past us, marching their way into the waiting jungle, and disappearing one after
the other through the curtain of tall grasses.

"Chief
Mahiri, please!" I pleaded, clutching at his arm. "Please, you must
halt this madness!"

In a single
jerk of his hand, he loosened himself from my grip. He stared at me, all the
sanctity gone from his face. He was now somebody different: a warrior—leading
his men out to an unpredictable war.

"Madness,
you say?" he spat out in anger. The bulging veins in his neck were budding
as though they were being fed compressed air. "I am the chief of this
village; it is my duty to look after my people. Already, in whispers they speak
that I am weak. Is it madness to avenge the lives of those Inua has killed? My
daughter? We have consulted with the oracle, and even now that we go, four from
our party will not return. It pleases my heart if I should be the only one. The
guilt of my daughter's death weighs heavily on my conscience." Then again
turning his face toward the huts he barked, "Kaila!"

Pages

About Maggie

Maggie is a writer of paranormal and contemporary romance. She lives in Adelaide, Australia and is a member of Romance Writers of Australia, and the local chapter SARA(South Australian Romance Authors). She hasa Bachelor of Arts in Drama, English and Creative Writing atFlinders University. She had a short story published in theRWA Topaz Anthology Little Gems in 2010 called Sea andVines. She has six books out with Rogue Phoenix Press. She also has four paranormal romances with Soul Mate Publishing. She is also published in contemporary romance with Evernight Publishing.

She has also performed for many years in corporateentertainment for which she wrote her own sketches, whichprobably explains why her head is so full of characters. Sheloves writing romance but thinks falling in love can be scary,especially in her stories where creatures of the night really exist.